I Was extremely affected1 by this plea. I could only answer, that Mr. Raymond must himself be the best judge of the course it became him to hold; I trusted the case was not so desperate as he imagined.
This subject was pursued no further, and was in some degree driven from my thoughts by an incident of a very extraordinary nature.
I have already mentioned the animosity that was entertained against me by the infernal portress of this solitary3 mansion4. Gines, the expelled member of the gang, had been her particular favourite. She submitted to his exile indeed, because her genius felt subdued5 by the energy and inherent superiority of Mr. Raymond; but she submitted with murmuring and discontent. Not daring to resent the conduct of the principal in this affair, she collected all the bitterness of her spirit against me.
To the unpardonable offence I had thus committed in the first instance, were added the reasonings I had lately offered against the profession of robbery. Robbery was a fundamental article in the creed6 of this hoary7 veteran, and she listened to my objections with the same unaffected astonishment8 and horror that an old woman of other habits would listen to one who objected to the agonies and dissolution of the Creator of the world, or to the garment of imputed9 righteousness prepared to envelope the souls of the elect. Like the religious bigot, she was sufficiently10 disposed to avenge11 a hostility12 against her opinions with the weapons of sublunary warfare13.
Meanwhile I had smiled at the impotence of her malice14, as an object of contempt rather than alarm. She perceived, as I imagine, the slight estimation in which I held her, and this did not a little increase the perturbation of her thoughts.
One day I was left alone, with no other person in the house than this swarthy sybil. The thieves had set out upon an expedition about two hours after sunset on the preceding evening, and had not returned, as they were accustomed to do, before day-break the next morning. This was a circumstance that sometimes occurred, and therefore did not produce any extraordinary alarm. At one time the scent15 of prey16 would lead them beyond the bounds they had prescribed themselves, and at another the fear of pursuit: the life of a thief is always uncertain. The old woman had been preparing during the night for the meal to which they would expect to sit down as soon as might be after their return.
For myself, I had learned from their habits to be indifferent to the regular return of the different parts of the day, and in some degree to turn day into night, and night into day. I had been now several weeks in this residence, and the season was considerably17 advanced. I had passed some hours during the night in ruminating18 on my situation. The character and manners of the men among whom I lived were disgusting to me. Their brutal19 ignorance, their ferocious20 habits, and their coarse behaviour, instead of becoming more tolerable by custom, hourly added force to my original aversion. The uncommon21 vigour22 of their minds, and acuteness of their invention in the business they pursued, compared with the odiousness23 of that business and their habitual24 depravity, awakened25 in me sensations too painful to be endured. Moral disapprobation, at least in a mind unsubdued by philosophy, I found to be one of the most fertile sources of disquiet26 and uneasiness. From this pain the society of Mr. Raymond by no means relieved me. He was indeed eminently27 superior to the vices28 of the rest; but I did not less exquisitely29 feel how much he was out of his place, how disproportionably associated, or how contemptibly30 employed. I had attempted to counteract31 the errors under which he and his companions laboured; but I had found the obstacles that presented themselves greater than I had imagined.
What was I to do? Was I to wait the issue of this my missionary32 undertaking33, or was I to withdraw myself immediately? When I withdrew, ought that to be done privately35, or with an open avowal36 of my design, and an endeavour to supply by the force of example what was deficient37 in my arguments? It was certainly improper38, as I declined all participation39 in the pursuits of these men, did not pay my contribution of hazard to the means by which they subsisted40, and had no congeniality with their habits, that I should continue to reside with them longer than was absolutely necessary. There was one circumstance that rendered this deliberation particularly pressing. They intended in a few days removing from their present habitation, to a haunt to which they were accustomed, in a distant county. If I did not propose to continue with them, it would perhaps be wrong to accompany them in this removal. The state of calamity41 to which my inexorable prosecutor42 had reduced me, had made the encounter even of a den2 of robbers a fortunate adventure. But the time that had since elapsed, had probably been sufficient to relax the keenness of the quest that was made after me. I sighed for that solitude43 and obscurity, that retreat from the vexations of the world and the voice even of common fame, which I had proposed to myself when I broke my prison.
Such were the meditations44 which now occupied my mind. At length I grew fatigued45 with continual contemplation, and to relieve myself pulled out a pocket Horace, the legacy46 of my beloved Brightwel! I read with avidity the epistle in which he so beautifully describes to Fuscus, the grammarian, the pleasures of rural tranquillity47 and independence. By this time the sun rose from behind the eastern hills, and I opened my casement48 to contemplate49 it. The day commenced with peculiar50 brilliancy, and was accompanied with all those charms which the poets of nature, as they have been styled, have so much delighted to describe. There was something in this scene, particularly as succeeding to the active exertions51 of intellect, that soothed52 the mind to composure. Insensibly a confused reverie invaded my faculties53; I withdrew from the window, threw myself upon the bed, and fell asleep.
I do not recollect54 the precise images which in this situation passed through my thoughts, but I know that they concluded with the idea of some person, the agent of Mr. Falkland, approaching to assassinate55 me. This thought had probably been suggested by the project I meditated56 of entering once again into the world, and throwing myself within the sphere of his possible vengeance57. I imagined that the design of the murderer was to come upon me by surprise, that I was aware of his design, and yet, by some fascination58, had no thought of evading59 it. I heard the steps of the murderer as he cautiously approached. I seemed to listen to his constrained60 yet audible breathings. He came up to the corner where I was placed, and then stopped.
The idea became too terrible; I started, opened my eyes, and beheld61 the execrable hag before mentioned standing62 over me with a butcher’s cleaver63. I shifted my situation with a speed that seemed too swift for volition64, and the blow already aimed at my skull65 sunk impotent upon the bed. Before she could wholly recover her posture66, I sprung upon her, seized hold of the weapon, and had nearly wrested67 it from her. But in a moment she resumed her strength and her desperate purpose, and we had a furious struggle — she impelled68 by inveterate69 malice, and I resisting for my life. Her vigour was truly Amazonian, and at no time had I ever occasion to contend with a more formidable opponent. Her glance was rapid and exact, and the shock with which from time to time she impelled her whole frame inconceivably vehement70. At length I was victorious71, took from her the instrument of death, and threw her upon the ground. Till now the earnestness of her exertions had curbed72 her rage; but now she gnashed with her teeth, her eyes seemed as if starting from their sockets73, and her body heaved with uncontrollable insanity74.
“Rascal75! devil!” she exclaimed, “what do you mean to do to me?”
Till now the scene had passed uninterrupted by a single word.
“Nothing,” I replied: “begone, infernal witch! and leave me to myself.”
“Leave you! No: I will thrust my fingers through your ribs76, and drink your blood!— You conquer me?— Ha, ha!— Yes, yes; you shall!— I will sit upon you, and press you to hell! I will roast you with brimstone, and dash your entrails into your eyes! Ha, ha!— ha!”
Saying this, she sprung up, and prepared to attack me with redoubled fury. I seized her hands, and compelled her to sit upon the bed. Thus restrained, she continued to express the tumult77 of her thoughts by grinning, by certain furious motions of her head, and by occasional vehement efforts to disengage herself from my grasp. These contortions78 and starts were of the nature of those fits in which the patients are commonly supposed to need three or four persons to hold them. But I found by experience that, under the circumstances in which I was placed, my single strength was sufficient. The spectacle of her emotions was inconceivably frightful79. Her violence at length however began to abate80, and she became convinced of the hopelessness of the contest.
“Let me go!” said she. “Why do you hold me? I will not be held.”
“I wanted you gone from the first,” replied I.
“Are you contented81 to go now?”
“Yes, I tell you, misbegotten villain82! Yes, rascal!”
I immediately loosed my hold. She flew to the door, and, holding it in her hand, said, “I will be the death of you yet: you shall not be your own man twenty-four hours longer!” With these words she shut the door, and locked it upon me. An action so totally unexpected startled me. Whither was she gone? What was it she intended? To perish by the machinations of such a hag as this was a thought not to be endured. Death in any form brought upon us by surprise, and for which the mind has had no time to prepare, is inexpressibly terrible. My thoughts wandered in breathless horror and confusion, and all within was uproar83. I endeavoured to break the door, but in vain. I went round the room in search of some tool to assist me. At length I rushed against it with a desperate effort, to which it yielded, and had nearly thrown me from the top of the stairs to the bottom.
I descended84 with all possible caution and vigilance, I entered the room which served us for a kitchen, but it was deserted85. I searched every other apartment in vain. I went out among the ruins; still I discovered nothing of my late assailant. It was extraordinaiy: what could be become of her? what was I to conclude from her disappearance86! I reflected on her parting menace,—“I should not be my own man twenty-four hours longer.” It was mysterious! it did not seem to be the menace of assassination87. Suddenly the recollection of the hand-bill brought to us by Larkins rushed upon my memory. Was it possible that she alluded88 to that in her parting words? Would she set out upon such an expedition by herself? Was it not dangerous to the whole fraternity if, without the smallest precaution, she should bring the officers of justice in the midst of them? It was perhaps improbable she would engage in an undertaking thus desperate. It was not however easy to answer for the conduct of a person in her state of mind. Should I wait, and risk the preservation89 of my liberty upon the issue?
To this question I returned an immediate34 negative. I had resolved in a short time to quit my present situation, and the difference of a little sooner or a little later could not be very material. It promised to be neither agreeable nor prudent90 for me to remain under the same roof with a person who had manifested such a fierce and inexpiable hostility. But the consideration which had inexpressibly the most weight with me, belonged to the ideas of imprisonment91, trial, and death. The longer they had formed the subject of my contemplation, the more forcibly was I impelled to avoid them. I had entered upon a system of action for that purpose; I had already made many sacrifices; and I believed that I would never miscarry in this project through any neglect of mine. The thought of what was reserved for me by my persecutors sickened my very soul; and the more intimately I was acquainted with oppression and injustice92, the more deeply was I penetrated93 with the abhorrence94 to which they are entitled.
Such were the reasons that determined95 me instantly, abruptly96, without leave-taking, or acknowledgment for the peculiar and repeated favours I had received, to quit a habitation to which, for six weeks, I had apparently97 been indebted for protection from trial, conviction, and an ignominious98 death. I had come hither pennyless; I quitted my abode99 with the sum of a few guineas in my possession, Mr. Raymond having insisted upon my taking a share at the time that each man received his dividend100 from the common stock. Though I had reason to suppose that the heat of the pursuit against me would be somewhat remitted101 by the time that had elapsed, the magnitude of the mischief102 that, in an unfavourable event, might fall on me, determined me to neglect no imaginable precaution. I recollected103 the hand-bill which was the source of my present alarm, and conceived that one of the principal dangers which threatened me was the recognition of my person, either by such as had previously104 known me, or even by strangers. It seemed prudent therefore to disguise it as effectually as I could. For this purpose I had recourse to a parcel of tattered105 garments, that lay in a neglected corner of our habitation. The disguise I chose was that of a beggar. Upon this plan, I threw off my shirt; I tied a handkerchief about my head, with which I took care to cover one of my eyes; over this I drew a piece of an old woollen nightcap. I selected the worst apparel I could find; and this I reduced to a still more deplorable condition, by rents that I purposely made in various places. Thus equipped, I surveyed myself in a looking-glass. I had rendered my appearance complete; nor would any one have suspected that I was not one of the fraternity to which I assumed to belong. I said, “This is the form in which tyranny and injustice oblige me to seek for refuge: but better, a thousand times better is it, thus to incur106 contempt with the dregs of mankind, than trust to the tender mercies of our superiors!”
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affected
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| adj.不自然的，假装的 | |
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den
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| n.兽穴；秘密地方；安静的小房间，私室 | |
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solitary
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| adj.孤独的，独立的，荒凉的；n.隐士 | |
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mansion
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| n.大厦，大楼；宅第 | |
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subdued
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| adj. 屈服的，柔和的，减弱的 动词subdue的过去式和过去分词 | |
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creed
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| n.信条；信念，纲领 | |
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hoary
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| adj.古老的；鬓发斑白的 | |
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astonishment
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| n.惊奇，惊异 | |
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imputed
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| v.把（错误等）归咎于( impute的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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sufficiently
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| adv.足够地，充分地 | |
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avenge
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| v.为...复仇，为...报仇 | |
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hostility
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| n.敌对，敌意；抵制［pl.］交战，战争 | |
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warfare
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| n.战争(状态)；斗争；冲突 | |
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malice
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| n.恶意，怨恨，蓄意；[律]预谋 | |
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scent
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| n.气味，香味，香水，线索，嗅觉；v.嗅，发觉 | |
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prey
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| n.被掠食者，牺牲者，掠食；v.捕食，掠夺，折磨 | |
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considerably
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| adv.极大地；相当大地；在很大程度上 | |
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ruminating
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| v.沉思( ruminate的现在分词 )；反复考虑；反刍；倒嚼 | |
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brutal
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| adj.残忍的，野蛮的，不讲理的 | |
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ferocious
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| adj.凶猛的，残暴的，极度的，十分强烈的 | |
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uncommon
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| adj.罕见的，非凡的，不平常的 | |
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vigour
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| （=vigor）n.智力，体力，精力 | |
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odiousness
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| n.可憎；讨厌；可恨 | |
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habitual
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| adj.习惯性的；通常的，惯常的 | |
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awakened
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| v.（使）醒( awaken的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）觉醒；弄醒；（使）意识到 | |
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disquiet
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| n.担心，焦虑 | |
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eminently
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| adv.突出地；显著地；不寻常地 | |
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vices
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| 缺陷( vice的名词复数 )； 恶习； 不道德行为； 台钳 | |
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exquisitely
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| adv.精致地；强烈地；剧烈地；异常地 | |
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contemptibly
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| adv.卑鄙地，下贱地 | |
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counteract
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| vt.对…起反作用，对抗，抵消 | |
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missionary
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| adj.教会的，传教(士)的；n.传教士 | |
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undertaking
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| n.保证，许诺，事业 | |
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immediate
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| adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的 | |
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privately
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| adv.以私人的身份，悄悄地，私下地 | |
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avowal
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| n.公开宣称，坦白承认 | |
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deficient
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| adj.不足的，不充份的，有缺陷的 | |
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improper
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| adj.不适当的，不合适的，不正确的，不合礼仪的 | |
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participation
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| n.参与，参加，分享 | |
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subsisted
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| v.（靠很少的钱或食物）维持生活，生存下去( subsist的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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calamity
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| n.灾害，祸患，不幸事件 | |
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prosecutor
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| n.起诉人；检察官，公诉人 | |
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solitude
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| n. 孤独; 独居,荒僻之地,幽静的地方 | |
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meditations
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| 默想( meditation的名词复数 )； 默念； 沉思； 冥想 | |
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fatigued
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| adj. 疲乏的 | |
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legacy
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| n.遗产，遗赠；先人(或过去)留下的东西 | |
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tranquillity
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| n. 平静, 安静 | |
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casement
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| n.竖铰链窗；窗扉 | |
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contemplate
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| vt.盘算，计议；周密考虑；注视，凝视 | |
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peculiar
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| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
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exertions
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| n.努力( exertion的名词复数 )；费力；（能力、权力等的）运用；行使 | |
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soothed
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| v.安慰( soothe的过去式和过去分词 )；抚慰；使舒服；减轻痛苦 | |
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faculties
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| n.能力( faculty的名词复数 )；全体教职员；技巧；院 | |
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recollect
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| v.回忆，想起，记起，忆起，记得 | |
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assassinate
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| vt.暗杀，行刺，中伤 | |
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56
meditated
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| 深思，沉思，冥想( meditate的过去式和过去分词 )； 内心策划，考虑 | |
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vengeance
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| n.报复，报仇，复仇 | |
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fascination
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| n.令人着迷的事物，魅力，迷恋 | |
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evading
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| 逃避( evade的现在分词 )； 避开； 回避； 想不出 | |
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constrained
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| adj.束缚的,节制的 | |
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beheld
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| v.看，注视( behold的过去式和过去分词 )；瞧；看呀；（叙述中用于引出某人意外的出现）哎哟 | |
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standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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cleaver
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| n.切肉刀 | |
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volition
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| n.意志；决意 | |
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skull
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| n.头骨；颅骨 | |
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posture
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| n.姿势，姿态，心态，态度；v.作出某种姿势 | |
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wrested
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| （用力）拧( wrest的过去式和过去分词 )； 费力取得； （从…）攫取； （ 从… ） 强行取去… | |
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impelled
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| v.推动、推进或敦促某人做某事( impel的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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inveterate
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| adj.积习已深的，根深蒂固的 | |
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vehement
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| adj.感情强烈的；热烈的；(人)有强烈感情的 | |
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victorious
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| adj.胜利的，得胜的 | |
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72
curbed
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| v.限制，克制，抑制( curb的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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73
sockets
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| n.套接字，使应用程序能够读写与收发通讯协定(protocol)与资料的程序( Socket的名词复数 )；孔( socket的名词复数 )；（电器上的）插口；托座；凹穴 | |
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insanity
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| n.疯狂，精神错乱；极端的愚蠢，荒唐 | |
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rascal
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| n.流氓；不诚实的人 | |
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ribs
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| n.肋骨( rib的名词复数 )；（船或屋顶等的）肋拱；肋骨状的东西；（织物的）凸条花纹 | |
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tumult
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| n.喧哗；激动，混乱；吵闹 | |
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contortions
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| n.扭歪，弯曲；扭曲，弄歪，歪曲( contortion的名词复数 ) | |
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frightful
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| adj.可怕的；讨厌的 | |
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abate
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| vi.(风势，疼痛等)减弱，减轻，减退 | |
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contented
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| adj.满意的，安心的，知足的 | |
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villain
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| n.反派演员，反面人物；恶棍；问题的起因 | |
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uproar
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| n.骚动，喧嚣，鼎沸 | |
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descended
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| a.为...后裔的，出身于...的 | |
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deserted
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| adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的 | |
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disappearance
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| n.消失，消散，失踪 | |
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assassination
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| n.暗杀；暗杀事件 | |
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alluded
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| 提及，暗指( allude的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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preservation
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| n.保护，维护，保存，保留，保持 | |
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prudent
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| adj.谨慎的，有远见的，精打细算的 | |
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imprisonment
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| n.关押，监禁，坐牢 | |
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injustice
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| n.非正义，不公正，不公平，侵犯（别人的）权利 | |
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penetrated
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| adj. 击穿的，鞭辟入里的 动词penetrate的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
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abhorrence
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| n.憎恶；可憎恶的事 | |
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determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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abruptly
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| adv.突然地，出其不意地 | |
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apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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ignominious
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| adj.可鄙的，不光彩的，耻辱的 | |
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abode
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| n.住处，住所 | |
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dividend
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| n.红利，股息；回报，效益 | |
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remitted
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| v.免除（债务），宽恕( remit的过去式和过去分词 )；使某事缓和；寄回，传送 | |
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102
mischief
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| n.损害，伤害，危害；恶作剧，捣蛋，胡闹 | |
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103
recollected
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| adj.冷静的；镇定的；被回忆起的；沉思默想的v.记起，想起( recollect的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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previously
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| adv.以前，先前（地） | |
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tattered
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| adj.破旧的，衣衫破的 | |
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incur
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| vt.招致，蒙受，遭遇 | |
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